| Short Title: | Local Government Act 2020 |
| Legislature: | Parliament of Victoria |
| Long Title: | An Act to reform the law relating to local government in Victoria, to repeal the, to amend the, the, the and the, and to consequentially amend certain other Acts and for other purposes |
| Territorial Extent: | Victoria |
| Enacted By: | Legislative Assembly |
| Date Passed: | 17 March 2020 |
| Enacted By2: | Legislative Council |
| Date Passed2: | 5 March 2020 |
| Royal Assent: | 24 March 2020 |
| Date Commenced: | 6 April 2020 |
| Date Effective: | Various |
| Bill History Url: | https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/bills/local-government-bill-2019 |
| Bill: | Local Government Bill 2019 |
| Introduced By: | Marlene Kairouz |
| Bill Date: | 13 November 2019 |
| 1St Reading: | 13 November 2019 |
| 2Nd Reading: | 14–28 November 2019 |
| Committee Whole Label: | Consideration in detail |
| Committee Whole: | 28 November 2019 |
| 3Rd Reading: | 28 November 2019 |
| Bill2: | Local Government Bill 2019 |
| Introduced By2: | Adem Somyurek |
| Bill Date2: | 28 November 2019 |
| 1St Reading2: | 28 November 2019 |
| 2Nd Reading2: | 28 November 2019 – 3 March 2020 |
| Committee Whole2: | 3–5 March 2020 |
| 3Rd Reading2: | 5 March 2020 |
| Date Amendments Considered: | 17 March 2020 |
| Date Final Passage: | 17 March 2020 |
| Amends: | ,,,,,,, etc. |
| Repeals: | ,,, |
| Status: | in force amended |
The Local Government Act 2020 was a significant statute in Victoria, Australia, notable for its impact on the electoral systems of local councils in Victoria.[1] The Act, which the Victorian Government described as the "most ambitious and comprehensive reform of local government in Victoria for 30 years," will see a large number of multi-member wards replaced with single-member wards.[1] [2]
Reviews were undertaken for the number of councillors, number of councillors per ward and the exact boundaries of those wards for 39 of Victoria's 79 councils.[2]
The Act was introduced on 17 June 2019 by the then-Minister for Local Government, Adem Somyurek.[3] It passed parliament on 17 March 2020, and received Royal Assent days later on 24 March.[1] [4]
The Act has been criticised for its removal of proportional representation for most councils, and the consequential likely negative impact on the ability for women and minority groups to be elected.[5]
All metropolitan councils with multi-member wards were affected by the changes. Rural councils have the options of being unsubdivided, or having equal-sized multi-member wards.[5] The City of Melbourne, which is unsubdivided and does not have wards, was not impacted.[2]
Although most changes are set to come into effect before the 2024 local elections, eight councils moved to single-member wards ahead of the 2020 local elections:[6]
Additionally, Swan Hill and Mansfield moved to an unsubdivided structure.[6]